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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27705824">The Clan of Two and the One Below</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/tspofnutmeg/pseuds/tspofnutmeg'>tspofnutmeg</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 14:28:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,532</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27705824</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/tspofnutmeg/pseuds/tspofnutmeg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Din Djarin is looking for the child's family, but who will he find at the end of the long road?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Rogue Podron Made Us Do It</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Clan of Two and the One Below</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>How was she supposed to feel... looking at that small thing? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t want to come here, didn’t want to leave the sanctuary she had built for herself over the decades. She was resting. She had </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally</span>
  </em>
  <span> found peace in a violent, hateful, hopeless galaxy. But she knew he wouldn’t take no for an answer and it was better for her to step off her world for the first time in thirty-four years than to risk having outsiders come and disturb her home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaddle heard the Mandalorian sigh in annoyance beneath his helmet. She had been like that for several minutes now, silently staring at the small child before her who gazed back at her just as intently. Neither of them had moved, not a nervous twitch of the ear or even blinked their large eyes. Which one of them would break first?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was the human, of course.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So…” the Mandalorian started, ending the stalemate, “Is he one of yours? I mean. Not </span>
  <em>
    <span>yours</span>
  </em>
  <span> yours, but one of your kind. I guess he could be yours, but...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaddle turned her face to the Mandalorian. Although her expression didn’t visibly change, he could feel the frustration and uncertainty radiating form her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The elder had been difficult to find. Whispers and rumors were the only things the Mandalorian had to go on, and they had led him further away from the part of the galaxy he knew. There were planets where being a Mandalorian or being a bounty hunter was virtually useless. People were more interested than intimidated by him, but it wasn’t in a way where they wanted to rob or kill him - they wanted to be friends. It was unnerving, and the Mandalorian was thankful he could distract them all with the child’s antics.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After months of searching, it was luck that had put them on the right path to finding Yaddle. The child had once again wandered off while the Mandalorian was following up on another fruitless lead. Thankfully, he had not gone far, the Mandalorian finding him sitting on a set of steps leading to a small cottage on a beach. He was with an elderly Nautolan, both of them happily snacking on smoked fish and watching the ebbing tide. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Nautolan had useful information for them, saying he had even met others like the child decades ago. He spoke in half truths, but his sincere smile and friendly demeanor made the Mandalorian believe that he was only protecting himself, not trying to deceive them. He had led them to a way to send a message to the being standing before them now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was something different about her, something </span>
  <em>
    <span>off</span>
  </em>
  <span>, like she was operating on a different plane of existence than he was. He had felt it a few times when they were in sticky situations and the child did something unexpected. It felt like a push against his psyche. With Yaddle it felt more intentional, like whatever it was was testing for weakness in his mental armor and was ready to exploit it. It made him feel as vulnerable as he did when he took his helmet off. He didn’t like it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But suddenly the pressure the Mandalorian felt disappeared and Yaddle’s posture seemed to change to be more relaxed. The edge from her voice was gone as she spoke, “I’ve never had an egg.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“An egg?” the Mandalorian asked, pretending she hadn’t ignored his question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, an egg. How did you think children were born?” she scoffed as she inched forward to peer closer at the child.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian choked back the noise of annoyance at being spoken to like </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> was freshly hatched. There were probably millions of species in the galaxy, </span>
  <em>
    <span>excuse him</span>
  </em>
  <span> for not being familiar with theirs. It was his first time meeting a fifty year old baby, she could cut him a little slack.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The child still stood patiently, his tiny hands gripping at the fabric of his coat, seemingly unbothered by the way his elder examined him. He hadn’t broken eye contact, looking just as interested in her. The Mandalorian wondered if he’s ever seen someone who looks like him before. Is he happy? Confused? Frightened? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were many times the Mandalorian had wished he could communicate better with the child, but it never felt as important as it did right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a soft voice, Yaddle said, “...We didn’t think there were any left.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian snapped out of his thoughts, “We?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Myself and </span>
  <em>
    <span>Master Yoda</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Yaddle clarified.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian didn’t miss the distaste in her voice as she spoke the name. It didn’t sound familiar to him, but obviously he was someone significant to her. An elder to her people? A family member? Maybe a-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was the head of the Jedi Council,” Yaddle interrupted, bitterness hardening her words. “The last Grand Master the Jedi would ever have.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian still didn’t understand. What was the Jedi Council? What was a Grand Master? What did all of this have to do with the child he had found?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaddle sighed and slowly sat herself on the ground, the child immediately waddling to her and climbing into her lap. Together like this, the wrinkles on the child’s face didn’t seem so severe; he truly did look like a baby in comparison to her. The Mandalorian wondered just how many hundreds of years old she must be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt very glad the human lifespan was relatively short. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaddle gently stroked the child’s long ears as she started to speak, “My people - our people - are very few in the entire galaxy. We are naturally born with a strong connection to the Force and so we have always been hunted. Most were killed as infants and younglings before they could protect themselves.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian swallowed the lump in his throat, pushing back the memories of his own childhood. This wasn’t about him; he wasn’t vulnerable anymore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaddle continued, “When I had met Master Yoda, he was as shocked to see me as I am to see this one now. Everyday I had meditated to try to find someone like me. No matter how far I reached out, there was never a spark in the Force that let me know I wasn’t alone. Even on Coruscant I hadn’t been able to </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> Master Yoda until I had already met him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian hummed in thought. “Maybe that’s a natural adaptation your people had developed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaddle nodded, smiling sadly. “That was our conclusion as well. Unfortunate that what had protected us also isolated us. Not many sentient species live as long as we do. You have to prepare yourself for seeing those around you wither away and die.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence washed over them as the burden of living settled heavily in their thoughts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How long will he be like this?” the Mandalorian asked quietly, trying to get the Armorer’s echoing voice repeating “</span>
  <em>
    <span>a clan of two”</span>
  </em>
  <span> pushed out of his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaddle examined the child’s face, running her thumb along the rolls of his cheeks, making him giggle, “Do you know how old he is?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was told fifty… maybe he’s fifty-one by now,” he answered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laughed, the additional crinkles around her eyes somehow made her look younger. “A toddler! No wonder he’s so curious and outgoing. It may still be another twenty or thirty years before he starts speaking and getting bigger.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian squatted down next to them and rested his hand on the child’s head. He cooed, enjoying being lavished in attention. A rueful smile was hidden behind the Mandalorian’s helmet. Twenty or thirty years? The Mandalorian wasn’t sure he’d still be alive in a month much less </span>
  <em>
    <span>years</span>
  </em>
  <span> from now. That wasn’t just the life of a bounty hunter, and that was the life of Mandalorians - forever hunted by the greedy or foolish. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he wanted to live long enough to teach the child his real name. To talk to him about the adventures they’ve been on. To hear the child explain what the Force feels like. He wanted to know that when he did die, the child would be able to remember him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaddle pushed the child into the Mandalorian’s hands and stood with a grunt. The gravity on this moon was stronger than where she lived and it made her very aware of her age. She waited for the Mandalorian to stand, the child cradled against him, before speaking, “Come to my home. It is safer and more comfortable there, and I will answer whatever I can of your questions.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian perked up, relieved that this wasn’t the end of things. He’d worked so hard to protect the child and bring him to a place where he’ll be safe and with his people. For once it felt like his effort was paying off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your ship or mine?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaddle smirked and reached over, placing her hand on the Mandalorian’s knee. A set of coordinates appeared in his mind like a vivid memory. He was stunned, and he knew that she knew he was even if she couldn’t see his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See you there,” Yaddle called, laughing once more as she turned and walked toward her own vessel.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is how season 2 of the Mandalorian should end.</p><p>Also, if you didn't know, Yoda was really jealous of Yaddle and treated her super poorly!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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